The EU = European Union has begun funding a study on a joint project promoted by Japanese, American, and European companies to lay a new submarine cable connecting Japan and Europe via the Arctic Ocean on the North American side. It aims to avoid the influence of Russia and make it possible to exchange large amounts of data more securely, and is attracting attention as a new movement in light of the turbulent international situation.

Provision of survey funds to three companies in the EU, Japan, the United States and Europe

Delegation of the European Union to Japan First Counsellor Stephen Kramer

This was revealed by Stefan Kramer, First Counsellor of the Delegation of the European Union to Japan, in an interview with NHK.

According to Counselor Kramer, the EU = European Union has begun providing funds of 3.365 million euros, or up to 5 million yen in Japan yen, for the initial research cost of a new submarine optical cable concept being promoted by three companies in Japan, the United States, and Finland.

This concept is intended to connect Norway and Ireland from Hokkaido in the Japan through Alaska and Greenland in the United States via the Arctic Ocean on the North American side, and if realized, it will be the world's first.

The EU funded the initiative with the aim of avoiding the influence of Russia, whose relations have deteriorated due to the situation in Ukraine, and to secure a new route for the safer and faster exchange of data between Europe and Asia.

New Arctic Ocean route "can be speeded up by more than 2%"

This time, funding from the EU is a project promoted by Far North Fiber, a consortium formed by three companies, Finland and the United States, including a major IT company in Japan. It was provided as an initial survey cost for an "optical submarine cable" that passes through the Arctic Ocean on the North American side, and from this month, desk surveys using maps and literature have begun for a route of more than 3,1 kilometers. "Optical submarine cables" make it possible to exchange data with the world by placing cables bundled with optical fiber lines on the seabed, and are used in all aspects of daily life, from online meetings to mail-order sales and SNS.

According to the Far North Fiber, there are currently two routes between Japan and Europe that cross the Atlantic Ocean from the Pacific Ocean via the United States, a southbound route from Southeast Asia via the Indian Ocean and the Middle East, and a route that goes through land within Russia. If the North American Ocean route, which is the subject of the survey, is realized, it will be about 2% faster than the Pacific-Atlantic route and the southbound route. At the International Conference on Arctic Politics and Science held in Tokyo last month, discussions were held on "optical submarine cables," and it was pointed out that expectations for faster and safer Arctic Ocean routes are increasing.

Expectations for a new route due to global warming

In addition, the Arctic Ocean, which is close to the American continent, is expected to be a new route connecting Western countries because global warming has melted the ice that covered the sea surface, making it easier for ships to come and go.

Background is a surge in power consumption: 2050 times more than 2018 in 16

The reason why the concept of optical submarine cables via the Arctic Ocean is attracting attention is not only that the risks of the international situation can be avoided, but also that it is necessary to respond to climate change. As the digitalization of society progresses and the use of video distribution and AI = artificial intelligence increases, the amount of data communication around the world is expected to increase explosively, and according to the White Paper on Information and Communications of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, it is estimated that it will be more than 2030 times that of around 2018 by 30. This data is processed in data centers around the world, but it consumes a lot of electricity to run and cool the equipment, and the challenge is how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Under these circumstances, according to the Japan Science and Technology Agency, even optimistic forecasts are that the power consumption of global data centers will increase by more than 2050 times that of 2018 by 16.

Movement to set up a data center in Hokkaido

For this reason, countries in the Northern Hemisphere are moving to lower power consumption by placing large data centers further north. In addition to reducing the power required for cooling in a cool climate, there is a possibility that renewable energy such as wind power and solar power can be used, so there is a movement to set up data centers in Hokkaido.

Representative of a U.S. company: "We want to start operation in 2026"

Far North Fiber President Ethan Berkowitz

Ethan Berkowitz, a representative of Far North Fiber and former mayor of Anchorage, Alaska, who was in attendance, said, "We would like to complete the oceanographic survey by next year and aim to start operation in 2026," and that "Japan will be the gateway to Asia, North America, and Europe, and it will play a major role in planning, especially Hokkaido."

EU First Counsellor: "The new route will connect data centers in the Northern Hemisphere"

First Counsellor Stephen Kramer

Stephen Kramer, First Counsellor of the Delegation of the European Union to Japan, said that the Arctic Ocean Route is also expected to connect data centers built in the northern part of the Northern Hemisphere, and that "the Arctic Ocean route will be important because data centers are moving north around the world and data capacity is increasing in the north."